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Ron Forthofer: Loving our country includes understanding its past

By Ron Forthofer

Posted:
02/06/2019 09:37:06 AM MST

Updated:
02/06/2019 09:37:48 AM MST

Recently Jim Hemenway (Jan. 7) was critical of columns by Bill Ellis and Ralph Josephsohn. Hemenway wrote: "As an American, I'm insulted by their work, as they harm our country by gratuitously bringing up past grievances to demonstrate what a bad country this is. Their rhetoric damages social cohesion because it isn't designed to elicit a policy response, but merely to criticize."

Personally, I greatly appreciate writing that helps us to better understand our history. Understanding these crimes our nation has committed in the past may help us prevent our government from committing similar crimes against humanity now and in the future. Unless we know our history, we may continue to accept our government's lies and propaganda, spread by the influential media, that we are the "exceptional nation" and not bound by the rule of law.

Pointing out these evils the U.S. has committed makes it clear that we don't have any corner on the moral high ground, but that we have severe flaws just like other nations. In addition, acknowledging our faults does not say that the U.S. is necessarily worse than all other nations.

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Hemenway is also concerned that pointing out our past sins undermines loyalty and social cohesion. For me, a great way of accomplishing these goals is for the U.S. to live up to the ideal that we treat all our citizens equally, something that the U.S. has never done. If everyone sees they are receiving fair and equal treatment in a nation, they are more likely to support and be loyal to that nation.

Unfortunately the civil rights legislation did not eliminate all the laws and practices that were racist. The inequities in funding for education, in the criminal justice system, in the ability to vote, in job opportunities and in the siting of polluting factories and waste dumps are only a few examples of many areas where racist practices still exist. Furthermore, besides racism, there is also a vast difference in how the laws are written to advantage the upper 1 percent in wealth at the expense of the rest of us.

In addition to slavery, one of the two U.S. original sins, we should also consider the other original sin, the genocide of American Indians. We have done little to atone for this genocide, and the treatment of American Indians today is still horrific. The impact of these crimes does not go away if we just ignore them.

Disappointingly, in addition to our domestic policy that continues to undermine loyalty and social cohesion, the U.S. aggressive, violent and illegal behavior in foreign policy does not inspire loyalty and social cohesion either.

For example, the use of torture on prisoners is barbaric and brings shame on our nation. The violation of international law with the unwarranted 2003 U.S.-led attack on Iraq undermined the reputation of the U.S. worldwide and undercut the idea of international law. Presidents Obama and Trump both have acted as judge, jury and executioner in an illegal assassination program around the world, killing many innocent people in the process and further weakening the rule of law.

Currently, besides employing vicious sanctions that have crippled the Venezuelan economy and greatly harmed the Venezuelan people, the U.S. has also called for a coup against the legitimately elected leader of Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro. These U.S. actions represent a major violation of the UN Charter. Shamefully, this U.S. push for a coup in Venezuela is only the latest in a long line of illegal and destructive U.S. coups in many other nations against democratically elected leaders who the U.S. deemed were insufficiently subservient to U.S. interests.

Instead of turning a blind eye to these dishonorable actions that have caused widespread death and devastation, people who really love this country need to work to make it live up to its professed ideals. Otherwise the U.S. will continue it crimes against humanity and make a mockery of what we claim to be.

Ron Forthofer is a retired professor of biostatistics and has lived in Boulder County west of Longmont for 27 years.

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